This is the year I’ve decided to forgo the yearly challenge of stuffing myself into a swimsuit. No, I didn’t pose for the third photo in my recent post, “My Bottom Line,” but I certainly could have.

Never having been a vixen-like vision in beachwear, I struggled for years to find a suit constructed from industrial strength spandex that could squeeze and mold my flesh into the sought after hourglass form. But the years have broadened my bottom and gravity has been pulling especially hard as of late. Even with the mighty force of the super-spandex, I’m waging a losing battle. So, until puckers become alluring and the envy of one and all, I’m no longer showing mine off.

That said, I’ve come across a few photos of men who aren’t quite looking like the super studs they were in their youth. However, I don’t see any cosmetic companies going after them to “stop the aging process.”

The media bombards us constantly with celebrations of female youth and beauty while pushing a myriad of anti-aging products on us midlife gals. Their message is clear: only unlined faces are attractive, anyone over a size four is hopelessly lost in folds of fat, and aging is undesirable to say the least.

So, what’s a gal with a few pounds and puckers to do? Until I find an answer, I think I’ll sit this summer out. Besides, relaxing in the shade with a good book is just fine by me!

I gave up on swimsuits years ago. Why isn’t everything for women of my size is just plain awful. Do designers think that just because we’ve put a on a few extra pounds we don’t want to look nice? Do they think that we don’t care enough to keep the shapely figures of our youth and therefore something that’s bright purple with huge orange flowers is good enough for us? (I’m not kidding. I saw just this suit when I was shopping this weekend!). And yes, I agree with you about the double standard. I don’t see one orange posie on Richard or Pierce!

My sweetie likes to pull up his shirt and rub his beer belly like it’s his finest feature and he’s oh so proud of it! Maybe we need to quit worrying about what others think….I’ll have to work on that :-)